Prerequisites for admission.

Knowledge required for the admission.
The Degree Programme has no limited access. Eligible students have obtained a upper secondary level school qualification or equivalent qualification and a proper background knowledge consisting in mathematical knowledge and skills.

Procedure for verifying the required knowledge.
A verification with the purpose to assess the individual knowledge by means of tests or interviews will be carried out to make the student aware of his/her starting level of knowledge without prejudice to his/her access to the programme. The first test will be scheduled at the beginning of each academic year after the activities aimed at providing the minimum background knowledge, that will be carried out right before the beginning of classes of the first year of study. Further verification that the knowledge deficiencies have been overcome will be possibly repeated in sessions scheduled during the 1st year of study.

Criteria for assigning additional specific credit obligations.
Any knowledge deficiencies shall be overcome by the first year of the degree programme. To comply with credit obligations, students will be offered specific preparatory activities and on-going tutoring support by professors within the programme provided by the University and/or the degree programme. Failure to comply with the credit obligations by the starting date of teaching activities of the second year will imply the enrolment in the first year as repeating student. Alternatively, students are entitled to withdraw from studies and enrol again in the first year of the Degree Programme, or apply for the enrolment in another degree programme. The degree programme also requires the knowledge of the Italian language both oral and written, even if training activities may be carried out in a different EU language.

Skills associated with the function

Environmental control experts and forestry experts
Knowledge of biotic (animals and plants) and abiotic (soils, rocks, and minerals) parameters, skill acquired through the study of basic and distinctive disciplines in the biological, chemical, and geological field.
Systematic culture of the natural and man-made environment, skill acquired through the in-depth studies mainly in the biologic and geologic subjects.
Knowledge of the environmental indicators, that is a skill acquired through the study of the distinctive subjects in the field of Ecology and Environmental Chemistry.
Sampling, execution and interpretation of analytical measures of environmental parameters (e.g. inorganic, organic, and biologic pollutants), bio-indicators (current and fossils), soils, rocks and minerals, that are skills acquired through the study of different distinctive and similar subjects (also of free choice) and laboratory and on site practical exercises.
Ability to interact with specialists of the various subjects, with officers of bodies and environmental managers and controllers, that is a skill acquired during the entire development of the university career thanks to teachings that include board discussions on relevant scientific topics.


Nature guides and specialist guides
Background and interdisciplinary culture of the natural environment, that is a skill acquired through distinctive and similar teachings in the biologic, geologic, and ecologic field.
Ability to plan, organise, and carry out educational activities. Skills acquired through the internship activities and the preparation of the degree thesis, other than board discussions on relevant scientific topics, also by means of multimedia tools, included in several teachings.

Museum technicians
Background and in-depth culture of systematic, a skill acquired through the distinctive teachings (for example, in the field of Mineralogy, Palaeontology, Zoology, and Botany).
Ability to organise shows and exhibitions, a skill acquired through internship activities (in museums) and possibly when preparing the degree thesis.

Function in a work context

Environmental control experts and forestry experts
Counselling in the relevant sectors: environmental quality control, natural resource management, observations and forecast management to the purpose of mitigating anthropogenic risks (also with effects on geomorphology), organisation and management of the green spaces in public and private areas.
Direct planning and coordination of actions intended to preserve, manage and safeguard the intact or jeopardised environmental systems (same functions described above, but directly managed).


Nature guides and specialist guides
Dissemination of environmental information by organising educational activities (laboratories), planning of theme programmes, participation as expert guides to tours in natural environments.

Museum technicians
Classification, cataloguing, and filing of environmental heritage in the geological (minerals and fossils) and biological (animals and plants) fields.
Museum guide and organiser of theme and/or educational tours.

Educational goals

The Degree Programme in Natural Sciences is aimed at providing students with:

1) the basics for a systemic culture of nature and environment, as well as a good practice of the scientific method for the analysis of components, factors, processes and issues relating to the natural or human-influence environment;
2) the ability to observe, identify, diagnose, detect, and analyse the main environmental components, recognising the scientific means and methods that are specific for each component;
3) the ability to reconsider the components as ordered and connected systems that interact in the space and time;
4) the ability to work in a team, operate with certain degrees of autonomy and immediately integrate in the work environments, and in particular professionally join broad spectrum initiatives that require the continuous integration and collaboration with/among different skills (e.g. recovery and safeguard of natural and environmental assets, environmental restoration, town and country planning, natural communication);
5) the ability to work individually through the knowledge of the scientific updating tools for the subjects in the field, and the ability to access the scientific literature written in at least a European language other than their mother tongue;
6) the ability and skills in essential operations both on site and in laboratory, including the choice of sampling modes, experimental methods, and the analysis of the results;
7) the ability to use at least one European language other than Italian in their specific field and to exchange general info.

The degree programme is divided in three parts:
1) a first basic training part that, other than consolidating the knowledge of Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry on natural-environmental issues, sets the grounds for the subsequent BIO and GEO specific programmes;
2) a second stage that provides a sound knowledge base on subjects of the organic and GEO sectors;
3) a third stage that provides for broadening/specialising/differentiating the knowledge acquired through the choice of specific teachings offered by the Degree Programme or available at the University.

The knowledge acquired through the teachings offered will be consolidated through: I) experimentation, data collection and interpretation of the results obtained in the specific field chosen by the Student, II) through training internships and III) the preparation of the Degree Dissertation.

Communication skills

The development of communication skills includes:
1) Ability to work in a team, operate with certain degrees of independence, and rapidly integrate into working environments;
2) Proper skills, as well as communication and information tools;
3) Suitable knowledge of at least a language of the European Union other than Italian - both orally and in writing - in the specific field of competence and for the exchange of general information.

As regards the ability to work independently and report on the results of the work planned, organised, and carried out by each student, the verification of the communication skills gained, both in oral and in writing, will be carried out through the assessment of the final thesis, that will be related to the training internship activity carried out, and that shall be drawn up in writing by the student at the end of the study programme and presented orally before a specific board during the final examination.

Making Judgements

The acquisition of the independent judgement includes the achievement of a suitable ethic behaviour in the relevant sectors for the study of nature and the environment, which means the awareness:
1) of the issues of safety in the laboratory and countryside activities;
2) of the social issues connected with the profession of naturalist-environmentalist with specific focus on the ethical aspects in protecting the health and the environment;
3) of the delicate balance/unbalance existing between natural and anthropic aspects operating in the environment system.

The acquisition of the independent judgement is verified through the assessment, within the single teachings listed above, of the ethical and behavioural principles towards nature and the environment. The assessment of the training internship experience will also be extremely important.

Learning skills

Learning skills mean:
- fully acquiring the basic information tools to keep one’s own knowledge constantly up-to-date;
- developing the learning skills required to continue the studies in a similar master’s degree programme;
- being able to relate with the labour market through internship activities carried out in external environments (e.g. natural reserves, science museums, educational centres and centres dealing with the recovery of natural and environmental assets).

The acquisition of the independent learning skills is assessed by taking and passing the examination tests of some free teachings of the third year, the assessment obtained in the internship activity, and by preparing the final dissertation, which requires students to read scientific texts and bibliography in a foreign language and the personal exploration of issues that are not dealt with in the common teaching activities.